Floor tool for air-method cleaning systems



Oct. 15, 1935. D. B. REPLOGLE EFAL 2,017,770

FLOOR TOOL FOR AIR-METHOD CLEANING SYSTEMS Filed May 23, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet l E I a Q &

Attorney 1935. D. B. REPLOGLE ET AL 2,017,770

FLOOR TOOL FOR AIR-METHOD CLEANING SYSTEMS Filed May 23, 1952 s Sheets$heet 2 I venlors H/IROLD E. QUff. V

DflN/EL B. REP OGLE W 7 m? Attorney Oct. 15, 1935- D. B.- REPLOGLE ET AL FLOOR TOOL FOR AIR- METHOD CLEANING SYSTEMS Filed'May 25, 1952 3 Sheets-SheetS Inventors HAROLD EQUEEN DEW/1.51? PLUGLE Patented Oct. 15, 1935 r'Loon TOOL FOR AIR-METHOD CLEANIN SYSTEMS Daniel Benson Replogle, Berkeley, Calif., and

. Harold E. Queen, Washington, D. 0., assignors,

by direct and mesneassignments, to Citizens Trust Company, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of- Ohio, as trustee Application May 23, 1932," Serial No. 613,068 In Great Britain June 17, 1931 r 7 Claims. (01. 15-l56) This invention pertains to floor tools such as are used in connection with the suction pipes of so-called vacuum cleaner systems, but is more particularly applicable to that form of electrical motor driven portable cleaner in which suction producing means are directly connected to the suction pipe that carries the floor cleaning tool, and are moved about manually with the pipe, or some part of it, used as a handle. Such cleaners are known commercially under the registered trade-mark Air-Way'f.

The Air-Way" type device, which by reason of the limited weight, may be moved conveniently about'by hand, should have all its parts meticulously scaled down to very light and strong forms; and moreover provision for carrying the principal element of weight, its power plant, is properly to be found in a proper set of rollers, and a smooth working face of the tool which operates upon the floor of fabric to be cleaned.

Furthermore the tool to be used for general service on such a device should have characteristics adapting it, or making it readily adaptable to at least four distinct functions of service:

, First, it should be adaptable to removing fine and deeply imbedded dust from floor covering fabrics of all varieties. Second, it should be efficient for removing lint, hair, floss, ravellings and the like from the surface of, and from entanglement with, the pile or nap of carpets andrugs. Third,'it should be so arranged as to dispose and direct the air currents which do the cleaning, so that heavy and gravelly grit found upon floors or within the fabric, may be rolled up and into the suction pipe, instead of having to be lifted vertically, at the throat or junction of the suction pipe and the tool. And fourth, it should be constructed with a view to carrying away considerable quantities of sewing room litter, leaves from house plants, nut shells, cigarette and tobacco remnants, feathers and the like, without becoming choked or obstructed thereby. And withal it should be adapted to clean hard surfaces or floors without scratching or injuring the paint, and without abrading or discoloring the fabrics to which it is applied.

Besides these functions, the parts of the tool most exposed to wear should be conveniently renewable by replacement so as to preserve the complete efflcacy of its service.

The present invention has been produced to attain the various objects enumerated, and such I other objects as may be stated in the further description.

According to this invention, there is provided handle.

a cleaning tool of the type indicated, wherein the lips outlining the mouth thereof are disposed between a pair of supporting end rollers, and

substantially within the cylindrical limits delineated by, and along the extended common axes between said rollers. Provision is also made in a cleaning tool of the type indicated for attachment thereto. along a lip of the mouth thereof, of a supplemental lip, diverse in abrasive quality from the lips of the tool, and designed to be brought into action bytilting said tool. The invention also consists of a cleaning tool of the type'indicated, wherein the body portion thereof is adapted to have spring-actuated supporting rollers arranged to be manually attachable to and detachable from said body, for diversification of the service of said tool.

With cleaners of this type lightness of the floor tool is a particularly important feature. Conse:

quently one of the objects of the invention is to construct the tool with its walls as thin as possible consistent with strength. Another important feature is the provision of a relatively nar-- row mouth for the tool, as compared with the diameter within the tool above the mouth. A further object is to form. a tool or nozzle within which eddy currents may be avoided so far as A further feature of the invention resides in the fact that the upper and lower portions of the floor tool carry respectively upper and lower' halves of an air outlet conduit. A further object of the invention is to provide an improved formof end pocket for receiving the supporting shanks of the end rollers which carry the weight of the tool. A further object of the invention is to provide an improved means for detachably connecting the floor tool to a suction pipe or Further objects of the invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description as amplified by M the appended claims.

In the drawings:

.Fig. l is a perspective view of the complete cleaner: Fig. 2 is a side view on an enlarged scale of the floor tool detached from the remainder of the cleaner:

Fig. 3 is a side view of the upper member of the floor tool before joining to the lower member;

Fig. '4 is a side view of the lower member of the floor tool, before joining to the upper member;

Fig. 5 is a top view of the member shown in Fig, 3;

Fig. 6 is a top view of the member shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. '7 is a rear view of the member'shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a rear view of the member shown in Fig. 3; V

Fig. 9 is a rear view of the upper and lower members of the floor tool assembled, the tool be- Fig: 13 is'a side view of the floor tool partly brokenaway and sectioned to show the method of'attaohing the brush;

Fig. 13a is a fragmentary perspective view showing one end of the nozzle with portions brokenaway and illustrating the mode of attachment of the end rollers;

Fig. 14 is a side view of the floor tool with the reversible brush attached felt side down, the rollers having been removed;

' Fig. 15 shows 'a blank sheet of hard fibre used tolrorm'an end closing cover as carried on the v roller shank;

1 Fig. 16 shows a step in the process of forming the'cover;

Fig. 17 shows a ,detent to secure the cover to the roller shank; Characters of reference used in any'iof the views denote like or similar parts where they are used in the other views.

Referring particularly to Figs. 2 to 10, a lower trough-shaped member I, which may be formed ber 2.has'a welt or coping 3 pressed on its edge designed to lap over the edge 4 of the niember i. This welt 3 overlaps edge 4 at all points except for a very short length 5 where members I and 2 together form a cylindrical conduit 6 from the tool. As shown in section in Fig. 2, a cylindrical ring I, having a. flanged end 8, is placed over this cylindrical conduit-6 serving to join the members I and 2 and cover the butt joint at 5.

'Member i may be formed by pressing from a fiat sheet to, roughly, a trough shape one side of which, ,at the center, takes ahalf cylindrical forrnLBa. A slit 9 is made in the bottom of memforming the lips of the mouth of the tool, which lips constitute stroker members. As shown in Figs. 2 and 10, the fibre lips or strokers Il may be cut to form tabs or teeth 49 over a part of their length near their mid section. These teeth may be formed by saw cuts transverse or the tubes II or sheared up by pressing. The two sets of teeth point into the mouth of the floor tool and are normally parallel to the floor.

Member 2 is formed by pressing from a fiat sheet approximately a trough shape one side of which; at the center, takes a half cylindrical form l2. When inverted over member I, member 2 constitutes a cover. Two pockets I3--|3 are formed in member 2, to receive supporting roller shanks H by pressing and shearing inward a tab l5 which then forms part of the floor of the pocket. The floor of the pocket is extended the length of the pockets lit-i3, and forms an airtight ceiling for the main chamber of the tool, by a channel shaped strip]! 6 welded to tab l 5 and the sides of member; 2. 4

The open end of pocket 13 hasv two turneddown tabs ||--H adapted to engage two shoulders I 8-18 (see Fig. 13a) on the spring I9, which is attached to shank ll of supporting roller 20,

thus retaining the shank in the pocket.

Two downwardly opening recesses 2|2I are formed between the, welt 3 of member 2 and the edge 4 of member I to receive the hooks 22-42 of attachment brush 23, shown in Figs. 12, 13 and 14..

This floor tool formed by the assembling of members I and 2'is roughly a cylindrical shaped cross head 24 on conduit shank 8. The lips or strokers ii are within the limits of an imaginarycylinder defined by the rollers -20.

Openings 25-46 remain at either end of the tool between ends or the beads l0l0. Covers 26-26 carried by roller shanks i5-I5 slidably cover these openings 25 when springs i9-l9 are in the relaxed position shown in Fig. 9 and said openings become uncovered when the head is pressed down on the floor tensing springs l9--l9.

Covers 26-26 are preferably pressed from flat sheets of hard fibre as illustrated in Fig. 15, and are curled by a hot iron to a U shape as illustrated in Fig. 16. Detent 21 illustrated in Figs. 17 and, 9 retains cover 26. onto shank ll, the heel 28 of. the cover bearing against the downturned part 29 of shank l5, thus exerting a pressure, due to the elasticity of the fibre, the toe 30 of the cover pressing against theend oithe tool at opening 25.

The assembled roller supports l4 and covers 26 aredetachable together.; The flat spring I9 is designed to, be compressed by pressing with the thumb, on the top 20 which unhooks it, whereuponitzma'y slip away, with the shank to iwhich it is rivetedi irom the pocket l3.

Itis' to-b'e observed that the tool is operative. with therollers and covers removed from either orboth its ends. When thus removed. a flat stream of air is directed along the suriace being cleaned, coming in between the then exposed ends of the strokers, which may with great advantage be applied to comers along base boards, which are not accessible with tools as commonly used. The same flat stream efiect is had on the nap o! carpets and rugs as well as upon linoleums and bare floors when the rollers are left in place and the operator presses down on the tool so that the ends of the strokers are pressed beyond the range of the lower edges of the covers. The arrangement prevents the sealing against air current when the tool is pressed down where no current could pass through the floor covering fabric, but

2,017,770 permits sealing all around the mouth of the tool fabric.

Referring particularly to Fig. 2, a short piece of thin walled metal tube is swaged to an elbow 3| of approximately 22 deg ees. To the shorter leg 32 of elbow 3| is welded a. cylindrical shaped ring 33 having a flanged end 34 adapted to be swaged over the flange 8 of ring I, thus assembling elbow 3| to members I and 2 with a rotatable joint 5|.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 11, a; slip joint between elbow 3| and tubular conduit handle 39 operably connects the fioor tool to the handle. A spring latch 35 attached to elbow 3| carries a peg 36 adapted to extend through a hole 31 in elbow 3| whichregisters with a hole 38 in a tubular conduit 39. By raising the end .40 of spring latch 35 the peg 36 is withdrawn from the holes 31 and 38 and the floor tool is detached from the tubular conduit handle 33.

Referring to Fig. 12, an attachment brush 23 composed of a strip of wood 4| carries bristles 42 and'a strip'of felt 43 retained back to back by two plates'44-44 and rivets or bolts 45. Two spring clips 4646 are carried under the heads of the rivets 45 and may be rotated around these rivets. These spring clips 46-46 each have at the shorter end a hook 22adapted to engage recess 2| in thegfioor tool, and at the longer end a hook '41 adapted to hook over the rear top edge 48 of the floor tool, thus retaining the brush onto the tool. g

It is to be observed that the device attaches similarly whether the felt edge or the brush edge is disposed downwardly, according to the kind of service required, and in either case the attachment is held obliquely so as-to poise the operating edge close to the mouth of the tool. This arrangement is novel and important because particles dislodged by it are to be deliveredup to the air stream to be carried away.

In the operation of the assembled device as a whole, the combined brush and felt attachment may be left in place, high enough above the surface being cleanedso that the mouth only of the tool is regularlyin actual service, thus avoiding unnecessary brushing or scraping where there are no resistant particles to remove. But where,

for example, ravelling of silk or other particlepersists, the operator by raising the handle of the cleaner tilts the tool on its longitudinal axis, which is in line with the spindle in each roller, and brings as much pressure to bear as may be needed at the spot and at the time required. Threads, after having been impaled on thebristles of the brush by'backward strokes of the tool, are wiped off on the forward stroke, in close proximity or directly underneath the forward stroker.

grit may be rolled up into the pipe handle by the air stream, when the stream may not be strong enough, by reason of restriction due to close contacting of the lips with the floor, to lift the heavier particles vertically upward.

The generally cylindrical outline of the body of the tool permits great strength when con structed with thin and light metallic walls which approach to, and form the mouth of the tool within the cylindrical delineation outlined by the soft rubber rollers, centralized with the axis And handle motion, consequent in sweeping, without breaking the effective contact line of the mouth.

Since it is well known that metals rubbed over light colored fabrics discolors and injures them, there has been resorted to the novel feature of covering the metallic lips of the too mouth with removable and replaceable coverings or strokers made of hard fibre, or other suitable material,

thus providing against such injury.

The rounded lips formed by the tubular strokers make for easy propulsion across the surface to be cleaned, and should these lips become flattened with wear, they are readily removable by sliding off end-wise so that replacement of the so worn part may be had.

While in the specific embodiment of the invention as above described, reference has been made to the use of sheet metal as the material from which the tool is formed, other suitable materials may be employed, as for example various syn 35 thetic plastic composition such as bakelite orthe like, particularly if reinforced by fibre or the like incorporated within the body of the composition, or fibrous compositions suitably impregnated may be shaped or molded into the desired form without departing from the spirit of the invention. Where sheet steel is employed, walls having a thickness of approximately one-thirt'y-sec- 0nd of an inch are satisfactory, and owing to the rounded form of the tool which lends maximum strength thereto, will not be marred or dented by contact with furniture or the like.

We claim:

1. A stroker element for the floor tool of a suction cleaner, comprising a slitted. time nonmetallic material, having thread-picking notches formed therein. V 2. A floor tool having a lip portion md strokerelement comprising a slitted tube of non-metallic material covering said lip portion, said stroker element having thread-picking members formed integral therewith.

3. A floor tool having a pair of co-planar lips, tubular stroker elements of non-metallic material covering said lips, and thread-picking elements formed integral with the strokers, all said elements of both strokers lying in a single plane which in the normal position of the floor tool mouth, said beaded lips providing end openings for the tool.

6. An elongated sheet metal floor tool including an upper and end walls, and an end pocket for a roller support, said pocket including a floor portion spaced for at least a part of its length from the upper wall of the floor tool, said floor portion including a tab cut from an end wall and bent inwardly; leaving an end opening for the v insertion of the roller support, and an extension member secured at one end to said tab and at its other end to the upper wall of the floor tool.

7. In a floor tool of the character described, a pocket for a roller support opening inwardly from one end of the tool, and the upper wall of said tool having a pair of spaced integral tabs extending downwardly into said pocket, a roller.

having a shank for insertion into said pocket,

and a spring support carried by said shank and having a pair of shoulders adjacent the free end thereof for detachable engagement with said tabs.

DANIEL BENSONREPLOGLE. 15'

HAROLD E. QUEEN. 

